Mr. W. H. GOLDING (Huron-Perth) moved:

That the third report of standing committee on standing orders, presented to the house on Thursday, June 3, 1943, be concurred in.

Mr. SPEAKER:

May I draw the attention of the hon. member to the report of the special committee. It is as follows:

The special committee on the defence of Canada regulations begs leave to present the following as its first report:

Your committee recommends (1) that it be given leave to sit while the house is sitting and (2) that from day to day stenographic reports of the proceedings be taken by the official reporters, and that seventeen copies thereof be transcribed for the confidential use of the committee.

Any discussion upon this report must necessarily be upon the report itself.

Mr. POULIOT:

Yes. What I wish to say, as I am not a member of the committee, is that the part of the evidence referring to Mr. Houde should be made public. I should know what it is about. If hon. members are not informed-

Order.

Mr. POULIOT:

I recognize that you, sir, are the only one to call me to order; when you

Defence of Canada Regulations

do I am ready to submit to your ruling. You know the respect I have for you, sir. I am sorry I cannot be so lavish in the conveying of my respects to others.

Here is the case of a man interned by virtue of the defence of Canada regulations. The committee meets to make suggestions. The committee is a committee of the house. I am a member of the house but I am not a member of the committee. I have suggestions to make. Is it not possible for me to make a few suggestions when the first report of this committee comes before us? It is not my intention to divulge anything that should be kept secret; it is not my intention to say anything that has not been told before to Liberal members. I desire to make some suggestions, which the committee may accept or throw in the waste-paper basket as they see fit. I consider it my duty to make these suggestions. Moreover, this is a debatable matter and it is rather hard to discuss only the way the transcription of notes will be made and so on.

When the first report of this committee comes before us for adoption we are entitled to make certain suggestions to the committee which, as I say, may be accepted or not accepted by the members of this committee. I say that most respectfully. If you allow me to continue I will say that at the time Mr. Houde was running for mayor in Montreal the member for Temiscouata intervened with the Liberal authorities so that the Liberal members did not interfere in the Montreal elections. Mr. Houde was most thankful to the Liberal members for that. When the 1930 election came along the member for Temiscouata approached him and asked him if he would take part in the election although he was then the leader of the opposition in Quebec. He agreed to that. He did not take any part in the dominion election and although he was then mayor of Montreal and leader of the Quebec Conservative opposition, he did not preside at Mr. Bennett's meeting at Maisonneuve. The Liberal party should be most grateful for what Mr. Houde has done and because of the way he received Their Majesties, the King and Queen, when they came to Montreal in 1939.

Mr. J. W. NOSEWORTHY (York South):

Mr. Speaker, I should like to speak to this motion before it carries and I hope that what I have to say is in order. I should like to call the attention of the house, first, to the fact that this committee was set up on February 22; that the first meeting of the committee was called on March 26; that the second meeting was not called until June 8 after questions had been twice raised on the floor

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of the house and a question placed on the order paper. In my opinion the obvious purpose for the setting up of this committee was the study or the review of the application of the defence of Canada regulations. Apparently that was the purpose the Minister of Justice (Mr. St. Laurent) had in mind when he moved the resolution for the setting up of the committee. During that debate an amendment was introduced which was carried by the house. This morning the committee decided that it will deal first with the subject matter of that amendment.

Mr. SPEAKER:

I presume the hon. member proposes to discuss what happened in the committee this morning? That is not in order.

Mr. NOSEWORTHY:

I simply want to state publicly in the house that in my opinion the first matter which should come before the committee-

Mr. SPEAKER:

The hon. member is proposing to discuss what the committee should discuss; that is a matter that should be discussed before the committee, not before the house.

Mr. COLD WELL:

Mr. Speaker, I think

the hon. member is discussing the terms of reference by this house to the committee; therefore I take it he is at liberty to say what in his opinion ought to be considered by the committee. The committee has asked leave to sit while the house is sitting; consequently some valid reason should be given to this house why that privilege should be granted. Therefore the matters that are to be come before the committee are relevant to the discussion of the request of the committee that it be allowed to sit while the house is sitting. I suggest that the hon. member is not discussing what took place before the committee, and he should be entitled to discuss what he believes to be the matters which should be considered by that committee.

Mr. SPEAKER:

I have listened carefully

to what the hon. member for Rosetown-Biggar has said, but he will realize that we are now dealing with a report from a committee. To discuss the terms of reference as to what should be discussed before that committee is certainly not in order on the motion for adoption of the report, and I so hold.

Mr. MacINNIS:

On a point of order.

May I draw your attention, sir, to the fact that what we are discussing is exactly what was before that committee this morning.

Mr. MAYBANK:

Mr. Speaker-

Defence of Canada Regulations

Mr. SPEAKER:

The hon. gentleman is

rising to the point of order that has been raised by the hon. member for Rosetown-Biggar?

Mr. MacINNIS:

May I proceed?